Language Health

By Josiah Chijindu Egbilika  A Linguist and indigenous language advocate, Mr. Josiah Egbilika has called on the Federal and State Governments to prioritize indigenous language development as a national problem in Nigeria. Mr. Egbilika lamented on the continuous neglect towards language development from both national and States' budgets. According to him, there is no way the about 527 languages in Nigeria can be truly developed and properly documented without money. The Indigenous Language Advocate pointed out regrettably that the Twenty-Eight point Seven Trillion Naira (N28.7 trillion) budget passed by the Tinubu led administration did not cover the development of indigenous languages in Nigeria and the main reason for this continuous neglect is because government after government has not seen the need to make language development a national issue. Unfortunately, the rate at which Nigerian languages are going into extinction is alarming. According to the Linguist, no language in Ni...

By Josiah Chijindu Egbilika The word phobia is a Greek word that means “to be afraid of” or “fear of”. In one word, it refers to fear. It could be the fear of a thing, people ,object or language.  Lots of persons globally have one fear or the other. They find it difficult to relate to a particular thing. In some cases, it could cause harm if exposed to that situation. Same way, there are those who have fear for language, “Linguaphobia”. There are also those who have fear for speaking foreign languages “Xenoglossophobia”.  There are people who are afraid of speaking in the public too “Glossophobia”. There are also those who are afraid of speaking their own Indigenous or Native languages. This situation is referred to as “Endoglossophobia”.  The word Endoglossophobia was first dropped on Radio during the #LanguageHealth Show with Sam Oracle Chinedu and Josiah Chijindu Egbilika  Endoglossophobia is a common situation but has been subsumed into linguaphobia. This is not ...

By Josiah Chijindu Egbilika The use of Naija popularly called Nigerian Pidgin has been Advocated by drivers in Port Harcourt the Rivers State capital to be use when carrying out sensitization campaigns by institutions. The call to use Nigerian Pidgin as a communication means for sensitization programmes was made when the Federal Road Safety Corps, Rivers State command carried out a sensitization programme on safe driving and observing Road Safety Rules especially as the raining season intensifies. According to the drivers, the use of pidgin will make them understand the message communicated better.  Federal Road Safety Corps sensitize drivers on road safety in Port Harcourt  This does not negates the fact that they are unable to understand English, which currently serves as the official language in Nigeria but the call is to promote the use of Pidgin in social space. In Nigeria, over 90% of people understand and communicate with Nigerian Pidgin. The once creole language has b...

 by  Josiah Chijindu Egbilika Cross section of tribes representatives during God of All Languages programme organized by Assemblies of God Youth Ministries of Ikwerre Central District A representative of the Obolo Language came out first overall in the language competition organized by the Youth Ministries of Assemblies of God Church, Ikwerre Central District. The programme tagged ''God Of All Languages'' aimed at promoting the worship of God through our indigenous Languages. It is no longer news that English and Naija (popular known as Pidgin or Nigerian Pidgin-NP) pose as treat to our Indigenous Languages. They are commonly used in religious centers, market places, event centers and programmes, media and more. Representatives of the Obolo native speakers, winners of the God of all Languages competition As an official language in Nigeria, English is referred as the language of the formal. It is officially used in the what is termed "formal proceedings" like i...

  Josiah Egbilika Language, Gender and Human Rights Advocate and Naijalogist Campaigns are integral part of every electoral process. Through campaigns, electoral stakeholders pass messages to the public, educate the public on certain issues patterning the electoral process. The political parties and politicians do not joke with campaigns, in fact, campaigns are their bedrock, "nextdoor wife" if they need to keep themselves in the mind of the people to draw sympathy towards themselves. Parties and Politicians use campaigns to inform the people of the candidates and gladiators that will square it out in the "egelege" (native wrestling) fight called election. Beyond campaigns, other electoral process like voter's education, sensitization, rallies, etc. are all part to ensure a successful, free and fair election. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) uses sensitization to educate the public on how to vote, how to take their permanent voter's card...

by Josiah Egbilika Language Advocate, Najialogist, Human Rights and Gender Advocate Considering the decline in our indigenous languages, it has become of immense imperative to draw attention to the neglect of our indigenous languages. This is necessitated because the neglect of our languages has resulted to the abuse and false assumption that our indigenous languages are insufficient to national development, peace building and reconciliation. It is worthy of note that no good development can be achieved without communication. A good communication system is a facet to a better development in any region. No matter the tribe, race, belief or people, communicating the precepts and processes for better understanding and follow up is imperative. This is made possible through language. As a matter of truth not just fact, the  place of language in human development can never be undermined. It plays a major role in virtually every human endeavour. It relays the essence of human existence, s...

Parents have been urged to take up the responsibility of teaching their Children and Wards mother tongue. This was the submission of a Language Advocate, Josiah Egbilika during a Live program #LanguageHealth aired every Wednesday on NigeriaInfo 92.3fm, a renowned Radio Station in Rivers State. Mr  Egbilika stated that the child acquires language by hearing, urging that  language should always be spoken in and around as the child picks the sounds and words from the language as he/she hears those around him/her speak. He stressed  that the parents are the most important actors in teaching the child  language, noting that the parents are the first persons the child by nature relates with. He called on parents to ensure that they do not fail in the responsibility of speaking language often. Speaking further, the Language Advocate lamented how schools see speaking the  indigenous languages as vernacular and even ascribe some sort of disciplinary measure to those that...

 NO NIGERIAN LANGUAGE IS FREE FROM EXTINCTION - Josiah Chijindu Egbilika Nigeria has about 625 indigenous languages. Some of these languages like Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa are widely spoken and spread across the country and beyond. Some are spoken in the geographical locations they exist. Some have been developed to an extent while some others are yet to be developed, no written documentations of the languages. In the classification of extinction, people seen to exclude some of the languages that have written forms and some bit of documentation. But the true state of Nigerian languages is that no Nigerian Language is free from extinction. According to studies by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), 29 Nigerian minor languages have become extinct, while another 29 minor languages are in danger of extinction. Also, other views expressed by language teachers and linguists in respect of the three Nigerian major languages – Yoruba, Igbo, and...

  FG makes mother tongue compulsory in primary schools The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the adoption of the mother tongue as a compulsory medium of instruction in primary schools in Nigeria. The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, made this known on November, 30, 2022 after the Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Conceding the government’s knowledge that implementation will be difficult, Adamu said the mother tongue will be used exclusively for the first six years of education, while it will be combined with the English language at the Junior Secondary School level. Though the policy has officially taken effect, full implementation will start when government develops instructional materials and qualified teachers are engaged, the Minister stated. He explained that the mother tongue to be used in each school will be the dominant language spoken by the community where the institution is located. The Minister fu...

Hi linguists, I have a question , Do you think that L2 has an effect on L1? – Adary Nelson Surfing the net I came across this question on the wall of a facebook user. Although I gave an explicit answer, I felt the need to do a laborious explanation on it, to clear the fear and confusions. Acquiring language can be so strenuous for a child who is exposed to more than one language at the same time and sometimes same frequency, exposure and speaking rate. The positive fear in the mind of the child’s parents will be the aftermath effect on the child. A further concern is that a child exposed to a first language (henceforth L1), when in later days get exposed to the second Language (L2) what becomes the L1. Thus, this has made some parents lag in the conscious effort to teach the child their languages. Furthermore, there is the assumption that the native language is naturally the first language of the child, thus if the child does not acquire his...